How to Conquer the Blank Page: Go Wild!

Years ago, I took an Adult Ed class entitled “Wild Mind,” which utilized one of Natalie Goldberg’s books on the subject, Writing Down the Bones.

In this class we embarked on timed writings, starting at three minutes and eventually working up to 30.  We were given a prompt as a jumping off point: perhaps a line from a poem, a painting, a rock, a feather, or a Lincoln Log.  This object may or may not have served as our inspiration. Our mission was simply to write, without stopping or correcting, for the allotted time.  We wrote without rules, sans one: Don’t stop.  There was no bad writing, no mistakes, and no tangents too far or too weird or too silly. Afterward, we would mine our writing for gems: a vibrant description, a good laugh, a deep thought, a fresh idea, or an artful phrase.  These gems could be combined and recombined or used to start a new jaunt of Wild Mind writing. 

I took the class three times, and came away with five or six notebooks full of gibberish and gems. So now what? I asked. The notebooks, alas, didn’t answer. 

I started wondering how I could apply Wild Mind to writing that was well, not so wild. For example, while public transportation can be a wild ride, an article on the topic for a local paper didn’t allow for flights of fancy. Writing copy about a group tour did not allow me to throw the itinerary to the wind and set off on my own, with just a granola bar in pocket, on a great adventure into my imagination.  My article (due in three hours) about the food options on Harvard’s campus was not a creative piece. 

Or was it? Whether factual or fanciful, I still had to create, with a deadline looming. As a professional writer, procrastination is not an option. Wild Mind has saved me time and time again. When I have an assignment or a project or even a letter I need to write to Comcast, I open a document, set a timer for as long as I think I can tolerate (three minutes if I’m dreading the task, more if I’m in a writing mood or have a deadline looming) and start typing. “I can do anything for three minutes,” I tell myself. 

I might start with a list of possible topics or people to interview or facts to look up, a blip of conversation I overheard, questions I have, my thoughts, draft theses or ledes … and voila! The blank page has vanished. 

If I’m lucky the timer goes off unheeded, and I continue working away. Once again, I have tricked my I-don’t-want-to, it-might-not-be-good-enough, I’d-rather-be-swimming paradigms into submission. 

Other times, I’ve had enough. I’m tapped out. That’s all, she wrote.  But that’s OK.

I’ve introduced a problem to my brain, and my brain will work on it, even when I’m not. Ideas percolate while I’m unloading the dishwasher, taking a walk, sleeping, and yes, making coffee. When I sit down for the next writing session, chances are good something has gelled. I know what to write and how I want to write it.  That’s not to say I’m done … of course there will be revision. (There is no writing without revision; blog to come.) Yet the hard part is over. 

For students, I can’t emphasize enough how helpful Wild Mind can be.  When you spend three minutes Wild Minding a new assignment, you’re setting yourself up for success. Not only will you overcome the blank page and set your thinker to thinking, you’re less likely to find yourself finishing your paper at O’Dark Hundred the day it’s due or to get stuck without the needed resources. By looking at your assignment right away and giving it a go, you’ll discover if you need to: ask your teacher for clarification, allow time to research your topic or read a book, order a book online, head to the library, interview a neighbor … or your grandfather who lives in a different time zone. If you wait till the last minute to get started, all of these requirements might no longer be options. 

So, give Wild Mind a go … because you can do anything for three minutes.  While starting a research paper may be daunting, writing down your ideas for three minutes is not.